LAUSD Students Love New Vegan Lunch Menu

Sylmar High School students ate all 200 servings of vegan chili prepared for the day, and the cafeteria is planning to start making more to meet demand.

Students at Sylmar High School are raving about their new vegan lunch options. Media outlet Los Angeles Daily News assessed the reaction of the more than 700 students at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school—one of seven that is currently participating in a vegan lunch program implemented at the beginning of the school year—to gauge their responses to newly added options such as vegan chili, burgers, and Italian soy sausage sandwiches. “I love this chili,” ninth grader Delylah Vazquez revealed. “I think it’s pretty good. It tastes like a meal that my mom would make me, but without meat.” Adrian Gomez, also a freshman at the school, agreed with Vazquez and stated, “It tastes like chili. It tastes like an all-natural kind of recipe, like all I see in there is beans and vegetables.” While all items on the vegan menu received positive reviews, the chili was a favorite among students, and area food service supervisor Angela Nicholas said the option sold out of the prepared 200 portions in one lunch period, sparking plans to prepare 250 portions of vegan chili for future lunches. The vegan lunch pilot program was spearheaded by LAUSD board president Steve Zimmer, with support from animal-rights activist/actress Pamela Anderson. Student responses to the new lunch options will be gathered until November 17, at which point officials will decide if the program will continue and/or expand to other schools.